Pine Man

I'm probably over reacting slightly BUT it's hard to overlook the drunkenness, fighting and people queuing for Club Dining in the evening wearing shorts and a T shirt! I will probably go back to Aurora or Arcadia in future.

You are not alone! On my last cruise Marseilles was also cancelled and Toulon used instead. I was, however, pleasantly surprised with Toulon and in fact preferred it to Marseilles.

Not much in it!

I did visited Butlins locally , once, and will never go again. The same will probably apply to Britannia and, as far as I am concerned neither are particularly decent places!

Judging by my last Britannia cruise in June I would liken that, not as Easy Jet, but more like Butlins at sea!

I agree but, in actual fact, I'd suggest a Plan A with someone like Randox, for example, and keep Lloyds as Plan B as you can cancel it at short notice without cost whereas the others need up front payment and prior notice.

Last time I cruised on Britannia a few weeks back I was told that themed nights were cancelled due to Covid Protocols. Those hawaian shirts are notorious for spreading viruses!!

With regard to ongoing discussions about LFTs and the suitability of the companies involved surely it is very easy to break down the options. 1. If you want to cruise with P&O you have to have a LFT. Not much point whinging about it IMHO. 2. If you want to have a LFT there are numerous choices available. You certainly don't have to have Randox but reports suggest that they are probably the most reliable and maybe even the cheapest. I certainly don't see it, necessarily, as a serious subject, we all, as individuals, have choices that start with Option 1.

As meaningful as MOT tests on your car BUT should they be ignored?

It worked fine on my iMac and I was NOT surprised to see comments about Olly Smith who keeps popping up on emails from P&O. He seems to be the 'front man' for P&O now, appearing more times recently than Paul Ludlow! It was interesting to hear Paul referring to Olly with, "I strongly suggest taking the leap and trying Olly’s wine recommendations". His Bon Viveur wines really are very good and cheap! On my last cruise, a couple of weeks ago, I was encouraged to see adverts for his wine on the wine list BUT on the first night I was told, "Sorry sir we haven't got any of that", and as the cruise went on other brands seemed to drop off the list as well!!

My challenge on the next cruise is finding additional drinks vouchers given in lieu of the Loyalty Cocktail Parties!!

Sorry, it's not strictly legitimate BUT no passengers lost out, maybe just P&O!

Me too and I never had less than 3 or 4, whereas on Britannia a couple of weeks ago I got a voucher for just one drink. Mind you, if you knew where to look, lots of additional vouchers could be found!!

All the queues were for the early shows.

I was on the last Britannia cruise and you could only book for shows in the theatre when you were onboard as the app uses the ships WIFI. I tried booking on Personaliser before the cruise but wasn't able. As others have said, you don't need to book but when you arrive at the theatre your cabin number will be recorded. The first show I attended I hadn't booked and, after recording my cabin number, it was explained to me that guests who have booked will get priority over those that haven't. There wasn't, however, an explanation about how that would work! The inference seemed to be that if you turned up with a booking, and the theatre was full, somehow seats would be found but god knows how!! Just out of interest guests, with or without bookings, were sometimes queing for up to nearly an hour before the show was due to start.

I was on the same deck as you - what a bloody racket from above!! It did decrease slightly after a complaint to reception. We had Club Dining in the evenings and after a shaky start we had good service and a better selection of food than on previous cruises. Breakfast was always taken in the Oriental Restaurant and there appeared to be more staff than guests but it maybe that some were undergoing training. There was a strange mixture of 'Guests' on the cruise and a small minority where not to my liking. In fact after a fight in the Live lounge some of them left us at Cadiz! Some 'strange' happenings on board due to Covid. The Peninsular Club Cocktail Party was cancelled and we got a voucher for one drink each, which appeared strange because most nights in the Live Lounge, where the party would have been, it was jam packed and waiters were pushing their way throught the crowds to serve drinks - a bit like the cocktail Parties used to be!!, and, strangest of all I asked when the 'Themed' night was going to be. "Ahh Sir", was the reply, "Due to Covid Protocols they have had to be cancelled". When I asked if the Covid protocols dictated what our dress code was I got a nasty glare in return. Not a bad cruise but certainly not the best. No real atmosphere and Britannia is really getting shabby.